Universal picks up duo’s thriller

O'Keefe, Staples team with Original Films

Universal has picked up an action thriller pitch from scribes Sean O’Keefe and Will Staples for Neal Moritz’s Original Films to produce.

Story revolves around an elite team that secretly journeys to a foreign country to take down an international criminal. When the mission is compromised, the team suddenly finds itself on the run, desperate to uncover the truth behind a major conspiracy.

Moritz and Tania Landau are producing for Original Films.

Project marks a return to writing for O’Keefe, who toiled as a producer for entities including Original, Michael Ovitz’s APG and Union Entertainment, a shingle devoted to co-development of films and games, before returning to writing fulltime.